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Grandpappy Grim 'the Goldfish' Goldfist
Grim Goldfist Grim Goldfish grew up a typical dwarf, living in the mountains along the Sword Coast and working with his family in the mines. It wasn't until the dwarven kingdoms were invaded did he discover his strength in combat. Brandishing a golden gauntlet he struck the fatal blow to the leader of the invaders and was named defender of the kingdom and protector of the king. Years later Grim would lose the honor he won on the battlefield when he careless failed to protect the king, known for his weakness for the ladies he was busy "negotiating" in the King's bedchambers with an the daughter of an enemy ambassador when the king himself was found belly up in his own fish pond. He would forever be called the Goldfish Guard after this event by the kin who knew him before he left in self exile. The Goldfish Leaving his homelands Grim would travel to the other dwarven lands, the ones that did not know the story of the King and the Goldfish Guard, and he would earn his way by telling stories in taverns or by placing wagers. He would become a beloved figure in the underbelly of most of the Sword Coast, his stories of his exaggerated adventuring becoming known locally as Fish Tales to an amused public. Eventually amassing a fortune, he traveled around the world in the second half of his life, often using fake names as he went around all of Toril. Eventually he befriended the right group of adventurers and under the name 'Ebeneezer Stoneshaft' he was rewarded a small island keep known as Thornhold Keep, just off the coast nearby Neverwinter. Thornhold Keep Always thinking about profit he quickly turned the keep into a home for his large family and a merchant stop for those along the High Road connecting Neverwinter and Waterdeep. Quickly his family went out on their own adventures around all of Toril, always returning to Thornhold Keep bringing their father or grandfather countless goods and stories. They created portal gateways between several far away locations around the world to trade their goods far and wide. The keep quickly gained a reputation for it's marvelous goods and lewd entertainment but eventually it attracted the wrong type of customer. One day the Spellplague struck and destroyed the ancient protections on the keep. Almost immediately without warning a dwarven sorcerer used a relic to destroy vulnerable Thornhold Keep. Every living thing on the island that wasn't related to Grim Goldfish died instantly, however Grim and his family somehow were left alive, each family member left holding a strange artifact glowing with the same blue light as the sorcerer's spell. In the ruins of the keep shortly after the calamity, Grim would die in the company of his huge family as he told his last made up tales, imploring his family to restore Thornhold Keep and avenge their losses. The Ladies Grim fathered six children with five different women throughout his life and his travels: * Dolerra Thuldark and their son, Umbron Goldfist: ** While besieged by the gray dwarves, Grim found himself in a dangerous situation with a female soldier of the enemy, however despite the hatred he was told to feel he instead fell for this soldier and together they survived through the night. Keeping their relationship secret following the war they fathered Grim's first child, a boy named Umbron, deciding to flee his city and duty for his new family they were discovered and she was killed in front of him. Taking his child the city he once protected imprisoned him and forgot about him. He wouldn't see his son until they were reunited at Thornhold Keep. * Morani dur Vuddar and their son, Malnick the Wildfist: ''' ** Following the death of Dolerra it would be over a century before Grim would love again, after escaping the city that turned against him he rode aboard a slavers ship to the lands of Chult and found a wild dwarven woman named Morani dur Vuddar, the druid of her small clan. She taught him things he never had considered before, it was here where Grim put aside the sword and became a bard. Adopting the surname Goldfish that had haunted him for so long after his dishonor. Though they loved each other, Morani a wild dwarf didn't understand the concept of monogamy and the two departed as Morani and her tribe raised their son Malnick who would become known as the Wildfist. * '''Eldrin Ironstar and their son, Bami Goldfish: ** Leaving the jungles to return to his homelands of the Sword Coast he stopped at a lively Inn and fell for a bar maiden named Eldrin Ironstar, however several years later Grim woke as from a deep sleep to discover he had settled into a quaint farmers life with Eldrin and their son Bami. Eldrin revealed herself to be an enchantress who had gotten careless the previous night in the daily spells she would place upon Grim to keep him submissive. Needless to say, Grim quickly left the hovel, leaving Eldrin to die of a broken heart and little Bami became an orphan. * Brilledora Kelvin and their twins, Tribeck and Qwen Goldfish: ** Continuing his journey to the Sword Coast he again fell in love with a arctic dwarf traveller named Brilledora Kelvin, she was from the northern town of Bryn Shander and was seeking companions in a problem involving some giants. Without hesitation and losing his usual cool composure Grim joined he band of adventurers and quickly the two fell in love as they decapitated orcs and giants. It was the happiest Grim had been since Dolerra and together him and Brilledora had twins, a boy named Tribeck and a girl named Qwen. Grim became one of the most well known bards in all of Ten-Towns and began to build his merchant empire. * Dagrenza Waybeard and their daughter, Alenza Goldfish: ** However this dwarf you cannot change, and despite the feelings he had for Brilledora one night while playing at a tavern a beautiful dwarven woman in shinning armor began to heavily flirt with him. In a night of weakness the two shared a room at the tavern together and in the morning she left and he never saw her again. Years later he would tell Brilledora who would leave him, taking the children with her, and somehow despite all these women and children, Grim would be alone. Years later he would learn that the woman at the tavern was Dagrenza Waybeard, great-grandmother of Queen Dagnabbet (circa 1480s DR), and that their night together produced a child, Alenza Waybeard (grandmother to Garls Goldfish). Forgiving the Father Eventually centuries passed and Grim would lose his wanderlust, in one of the few true adventures he actually did he took on the persona of 'Ebeneezer Stoneshaft' and was rewarded heavily for his deeds with the deed to Thornhold Keep and the small island it rested upon. Opening up the keep which had only seen endless warfare under its last line of owners, Grim turned it into a rest stop for weary travelers and soon it became it key merchant location along the Sword Coast. Word of the grizzled dwarven bard named Grim and his island rest stop of exotic goods and pleasures would spread all over faerun and for the first time in hundreds of years, Grim would be reunited with his family. Some came to him quickly, with no ill will or blame in their hearts, simply happy to get to know their father they thought long lost. Others however took a long time to come to Thornhold and even longer to open up to the dwarf who abandoned them. For the first time in Grim's long life, he felt shame for leaving so many young kids behind in his adventures, he spent the rest of his life getting to know them and especially paying close attention to the grandchildren that grew up in Thornhold. He put all of his wealth and resources into the protections of Thornhold Keep, vowing to never let anyone take away his family like they took away Dolerra, and those protections held strong until the Spellplague struck in 1385 DR. Most of the family didn't know it but in the moment when the Spellplague destroyed their protective barriers and the rogue sorcerer struck at the heart of Thornhold Keep and the Goldfish Family, time slowed for Garl at the top of his tower looking down upon the spellcaster. He saw the weave shattering around them and as the strands of light broke apart nine white orbs appeared before him staring at him like vacant eyes. When they spoke, they spoke together with loud voices that boomed and echoes in the old dwarf's head. "Your Family Dies Tonight Old Friend; '' ''A Shallow Life Meets A Shallow End; '' ''Yet We Have An Offer That We Must Extend; '' ''Though Your Mind Will Be Lost To Whats Real And Whats Pretend; '' ''And Your Children Will Be Left Holding Their Souls To Defend; '' ''Surrender Yourselves To Our Nine Gods Curse, '' ''Only Then Will Your Children Earn Their Right To Ascend." Seeing the beam of light slowly coming down from the heavens and otherwise helpless to save his family, Grim simply said "We Accept" and his family walked away from the attack. Though he slowly descended into madness, telling stories of adventures he never went on constantly, he always told the story of the seven eyes and the bargain he made of them, it wasn't until his deathbed did he finally get through to a few of his grandchildren what had happened to them the night of the Spellplague, leaving them the responsibility of tracking down the nine gods and the curse placed upon each member of their family. Blueflame Relics Following the bargain that Grim made to save his family from an attack, as the patriarch aged and lost his mind each of his children both nearby in Thornhold Keep, and even those far away who had never known or met their ancestor Grim Goldfish, were immediately changed by the deal of the Nine Gods Curse. Each family member awoke following the Spellplague with some sort of relic or artifact on their person, still glowing blue from its creation during the Spellplague. The eldest of Grim's children, his six direct children each had their dominant hand encased in strange gauntlets made of unique metals or materials, other children further down the family line were born with various magical items such as weapons, rings, trinkets, and sometimes even animal familiars. At first, because of the abilities these items seemed to grant they were thought to be some sort of miraculous gift, however as time went on the true curse they were would become obvious. Each item was a Blueflame Relic, and if it was taken more than 100-feet away from it's holder their soul would be removed from their body and become trapped in the item until they are within 100-feet of their body. While trapped they must obey the commands of the person who possesses their item. Despite the dire circumstances the members of the Goldfish Clan kept these items close and secret, not even talking about it among themselves unless absolutely necessary. Eventually it was learned that the dwarves of the Goldfish Clan did indeed die the day of the Spellplague, they had just been resurrected by The Nine with the power of the fading energies of the weave. Unless the nine old gods were destroyed, every newborn dwarf to their clan would be born undead holding their soul in their hands. When a relic is taken too far away from their body both the body and the relic turn to ash, however the item and their soul both return to Thornhold Keep, slave to the first person who comes along and touches the item. The Cursed Lineage Depending on the age and generation of each dwarf in Grim's family tree they each experienced the Nine Gods Curse at different points in their life. Umbron's Line * Umbron Goldfist: Son of Grim Goldfist and Dolerra Thuldark, his fist was turned into a gauntlet made of solid marble with a shade of light blue after the bargaining, giving Umbron the ability to detect the thoughts of another creature when making eye contact. The Umbron line of the Goldfish Clan is the most secluded and disconnected from Thornhold Keep. Overall little is known about the family's Grey Dwarf (Duergar) cousins. ** Eldren Goldfist: Umbron's eldest daughter, always amused and smiling even during inappropriate situations, considered lucky by family standards. ** Pascal Goldfist: 'No longer gains health or nutrition from anything other than raw meat. *** '''Dolena Goldfist: '''Pascal's only child, she is extremely uncoordinated and clumsy. ** '''Hellsen Goldfist: '''Umbron's youngest child, his touch causes things to decay of the course of several days. Turned against his father and started his own line. *** '''Klank Goldfist: '''Helsen's eldest child, he is permanently displaced from your metaphysical mass. You cannot set off weight-based traps and leave no footprints. All magical items are null in your hands. *** '''Vergon Goldfist: '''Helsen's youngest, the sky always appears black to him and you can hardly see in the daylight however at night depending on the cycle of the moon you have extremely enhanced vision. = Malnick's Line * '''Malnick the Aging Fist: '''Son of Grim Goldfist and Morani dur Vuddar, second oldest of Grim's children and born in Chult. His touch repulses others, when touching someone who is extremely young (twenty or younger) or extremely old (twice the age of their race maturity) they must make a DC 10 Con saving throw or lose d20 years. If they are young the go down in age if they are old they go up in age. ** '''Zank: '''The eldest of Malnick's children, Zank was a quiet and distant child who spent most of his time in the jungles jumping his soul essence into the corpses of the freshly killed. *** '''Jinrar the Sun Walker: '''The shadows have been obsessed with you since birth, you feel them tug at you as you walk through them, you feel them whisper to you when you are forced to stay within them. *** '''Jinrhi the Spared: '''Thought your whole life to somehow be fortunate and have escaped the Nine Gods Curse, it wasn't until the day you died did you realize how bad your curse truly was. Your life essence created a vacuum sucking in everything within miles until a massive meteor fell from the heavens and impacted the spot. This created an explosion with a 25-mile radius, destroying everything within and the impact was felt up to 100-miles away. ** '''Jallam the Unseen: '''The middle child of Malnick, Jallam didn't realize what was special about him until the same camp he was with was attacked at night by the undead hordes of the jungle. As he stood there ready to be killed the undead walked past him, no matter what he did they didn't seem to notice his existence. *** '''Yammi the Spoken Tongue: '''Jallam's only child, she was born speaking the dead languages of the lands she was born in. As she grew she continued to endlessly speak languages both dead and alive, unknowingly speaking prophecies of events that would happen within the next few hours. ** '''Ikhome Who Crawls: '''The youngest of Malnick's children, she has a strange bond with the creepy crawlies of the jungle. Insects, flies, maggots, wasps, beetles, and moths are all strongly attracted to you and will hover and buzz around you but never touching you. If one accidentally bumps into you it is attacked by the others protectively. Insects like caterpillars and butterflies instantly die in your presence and spiders aggressively attack you regardless of their size. *** '''Redtin the Rotten Clock: '''As the day goes by you rot. Your eyes will bloat, ears and fingernails will fall off, teeth will fall out, and you smell like rancid rotting meat around the time the sun finally goes down. You wake the next morning rejuvenated and the process again continues starting around noon. ''Bami's Line * 'Bami Magics: '''Son of Grim Goldfist and the enchantress Eldrin Ironstar, Bami never knew either of his parents and grew up an orphan from an early age. After the Bargaining small metal objects would slide across the counter towards him and he was constantly accused of trying to steal things. He couldn't go near a blacksmith for fear of getting stuck to the anvil. Eventually he would learn to control this magnetism using his Lodestone Fist to control his attraction and manipulate metallic objects. Early in life Bami would find he also had a magnetic personality and would study the School of Enchantment, following in the footsteps of his mother unknowingly, he looked to capitalize on his natural ability to charm every beast, person, and pair of pants that he came across. ** '''Natidel Laughs: '''Bami's first child, she died at a young age and strangely her relic never reappeared at Thornhold Keep, later it was found out that her relic simply shattered and her souls endlessly jumps between people and even time eras. ** '''Rompar Eats: '''Born in the years following the loss of Natidel, Rompar was born with a never ending hunger you are never satisfied, each day comes a new strange craving that sometimes aren't even considered edible and will require you to go to great lengths for your strange delicacy. *** '''Brindltyn Winters: '''Rompar's only child, from a young age she was surrounded by death. Every morning she would awaken to death insects, birds, rodents, and other animals who had traveled from nearby to die in her presence. Young animals or those full of life would recoil and retreat from her presence. She also would die at a young age following the early death of Natidel leading most of the family to wonder if Bami's line was cursed to bury their children. ** '''Dimkirk Doublecast: '''The youngest son of Bami, dimkirk showed early signs of magical power at a very young age. Eventually he would become quite skilled in magical arts and effects and spells both casted by him and cast upon him would be doubled. It was a miracle he survived into old age considering his natural magical amplifier. *** '''Eisen Null: '''The eldest of Dimkirk's twins, Eisen was the opposite of his father and grandfather in every way. Not only was he not skilled in the arcane arts but he nullified them. No magical spells could be cast upon him and holding a magical item would strip it of its abilities for a time dependent on the overall quality of the item. *** '''Rho Lizards: '''The younger sister of Eisen, Rho was a strange child. She was compulsively obsessed with lizards of all types. Beyond the fantasies of a little girl she ran away from Thornhold Keep and escaped with her brother to Chult to live with their cousins amongst the dinosaurs. ''Tribeck's Line * 'Qwen Goldfish: '''Daughter of Grim Goldfish and Brilledora Kelvin and twin sister to Tribeck, Qwen was the first daughter Grim ever had and the only time he had multiple kids with the same female. Qwen was born colder than the arctic mountain she was born under, her whole life she never experienced the feeling of cold yet her touch and breath were like ice and she could freeze the surface of water that wasn't warm. While defending herself from a wolf she learned that her contact with an open bleeding source will result in the internal freezing and death of her victim. She was thought to have died in a storm when she was separated from Tribeck. * '''Tribeck Goldfish: '''Death is your constant companion after the death of your sister and the Bargaining, Nobody else can see or hear them but for most of your life you have seen one, sometimes two, spirits of death following you and commenting on your actions. One male and fatherly, the other female and reminiscent of your lost sister, they are sometimes good companions and other times extremely annoying or even dangerous. ** '''Cypress: '''The first of the three sons Tribeck had late in his life, he never stopped moving, in fact if he ever did it physically pained him to do so. Making sleep painful and hard to come by. Through his life he developed great dexterity and constitution though his body was constantly broken for the endlessly physical extortion. *** '''Winken: '''The only child of Cypress, her eyes are black globes that caused many to call for her death as an infant, believing her to be an ancient evil reborn. However it was just her plight under the Nine Gods Curse, she saw life in a sort of night vision that emphasized movement and vibration. She would learn upon adulthood her eyes were simply early versions of those she had when she would shift on the full moon becoming a wererat. ** '''Stalis: '''The middle child of Tribeck's sons, Stalis was attacked and pestered by animals his whole life, no matter how much he tried to ignore them or treat them with respect the animals of the world would seek him out and act aggressively towards him. Even animal familiars and companions of his party members refused to act as they normally would in his vicinity. *** '''Napar: '''The eldest child of Stalis, he would give off a strong aroma and shades of color would appear on his skin depending on his mood. *** '''Solma: '''The youngest child of Stalis, she was fascinated with her own death. Since she was very young she knew the truth about the family curse and that every child of Grim's was born undead, because of this she yearned for the relief of death but needed to wait for the right time and for her death to have meaning. ** '''Cromir: '''The youngest child of Tribeck's sons, Stalis was a strong and silent dwarf the saw incorporeal spirits his whole life. They walked among the living, guiding and showing him things others could not see. You can grab items from the incorporeal realm and bring them into the material plane. ''Alenza's Line * '''Dagna Waybeard: (Not blood related to Grim's family, she is Dagrezna's first born with her high born family and harbored a grudge against Grim for his part in tearing apart her family, the great-grandmother of Queen Dagnabbet of Mithril Hall) * Alenza Waybeard: 'Born the unwanted half-sister to Dagna and burdened her whole life with tearing apart the Waybeard noble family, Alenza found her strength in the animals of the countryside where she grew up. Born into privilege she would travel with her mother and sister and tried to avoid attention as she was the scapegoat for the whole family's problems. After the Bargaining that stressed translated into self-polymorphing whenever she went unconscious, the animal was random and would often be one she saw earlier in the day rather she realized she saw the critter or not, the effect would remain for a time upon waking often inconveniencing her or even endangering her. Her polymorphing would open up a door that would lead her down the road of witchcraft and homebrew alchemy, using any resource to achieve her end and protect the family she created away from the Waybeard's and the other noble dwarven houses. ''Blueflame Relic: * 'Fissier: '''The only son of Alenza's second husband, he grew up never knowning his mother or his family, he worked at the peak of a great mountain at his father's forge and believed the constant ash that fell from the sky to be the result of the mountain. When he traveled it rained it places they hadn't had rain for in months and he lived his life in never ending rainfall. When he found his way to Thornhold Keep he immediately bonded with his lost family members and was last seen helping in the search for Bami's grandchildren Eisen and Rho. ** '''Quillen: '''The only son of Alenza with her first husband, he was born and grew up never being told about the Nine Gods Curse and believed himself to be the dark spawn of Alenza and a dark entity. His shadow acted on its own as if possessed by a chaotic spirit, it constantly knocked over things and tormented others when they weren't looking. Others who usually blamed Quillen, as the shadow was skilled at pretending to be a normal shadow when they turned around. This constant chaos made Quillen paranoid and jumpy. *** '''Orion: '''The eldest of Quillen's two sons, Orion was conceived under unusual circumstances after Quillen found a woman who not only believed him about his shade but embraced it by performing a ritual to banish the spirit while starting a family during the equinox. Either related to his conception or to the Nine Gods Curse the only strange thing about Orion was how much beasts (of all sizes), especially cats, love him. No matter what continent he went too the beasts of the wilds would come bounding towards him like a puppy who missed their owner. Even the animal companions of rangers would obey him over their masters they had adventured with for years. *** 'Garls: 'The far younger brother of Orion, Quillen had Garls late in life and the boy was always thought to have been a little slow, even for a dwarf. However, unknown to even Garls himself was that he had the summoner's curse. At a young age a childhood friend discovered the curse by saying his name three times in a row. Suddenly blue flames swept over the dwarf and an astral version of him appeared before his friend, his eyes gleaming a pure blue, awaiting a command. From that day forward he would constantly be summoned out of time and space to complete mundane tasks for his master while leaving behind his physical body staring off into space. Upon awakening he would forget the whole experience upon his return, giving him little rest and exhausting his energy. This whole process would grind him down quickly, making him become a bumbling old fool at a young age. ''Blueflame Relic: '''The Cookbook * Dagnabbet: Though her grandmother, Dagna Waybeard and Alenza were half-sisters and bitter rivals, in their old age they got over the petty affairs of their shared mother and embraced each other as family. When Dagna died in the 1350s, Alenza took care of her son Dagnabbit and would be the only grandmother Dagnabbet would ever know. Upon Alenza's death, Dagnabbet promised to stay close to the Goldfish Clan, who she considered cousins, despite their extreme quirks. After 1486 DR when she became the first Queen of Mithril Hall her promise would be tested when these Goldfish cousins would constantly find themselves in dire situations across Faerun.